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Georgia is founded as a prison colony, before becoming a "slave colony" under the Royal Crown.

1735

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Georgia is founded as a colony for those incarcerated for debt. One of the creators of the colony, James Oglethorpe, wants to reform prisons so people are not incarcerated solely for unpaid debts. He decides to help establish the colony after his friend dies of smallpox he contracted during his incarceration for debt.

The theory behind the new colony is that those incarcerated can work off their debt by building up Georgia's economy. The original Georgia constitution also makes enslavement illegal. This strategy fails and is soon abandoned, replaced by the same emerging plantation system as elsewhere in the South.